Hello, My Name Is Christine And I Hate The "What Do You Do" Question.

You've been there. You know what I'm talking about.

Those situations you find yourself in where you've got a lanyard hanging on your neck all day and polite conversation in line for coffee during a break in the conference eventually leads to ...the question.

"So...what do you do?"

I hate this question. It makes me feel self conscious. I even hate explaining why it makes me feel self conscious. It just does.

Because I do a lot of things. But saying that sometimes sounds like I do nothing at all when you're in a situation where all you want is two packs of Splenda.  

So what exactly do I do?

I'm still trying to figure out my elevator pitch for this year.

Catching up at lunch yesterday I was telling my insanely smart friend Kevin about this frustration of mine.

He said I was a Tummler.

"...conversational catalyst within a group, to welcome newcomers, rein in old hands and set the tone of the conversation so that it can become a community."

It's a Yiddish word. I didn't fully understand it the first time I heard him talk about it while watching the video from his talk at Web 2.0 Expo. I totally get it now.

Clarity over a bowl of ramen. I love it.

So now I feel much better going into the new year feeling like there's a place for me at the big kids table.

But I'm still not sure how to answer the "what do you do" question.

I think I'll just avoid the coffee lines at conferences until I figure that one out.